In my previous blog post, I encouraged you to recall a presentation you would remember forever. This time, I will share how one presentation was pivotal in my business development.
Let me start with the photo at the top of this blog. Do you see anything special about it?
The Presentation I Never Forgot
Thirty years ago, as a business trainer, I attended a presentation given by a professor. Regrettably, I do not recall his name, but I will never forget his message. He had investigated how long adults recall information from a training course.
While talking, he poured pink liquid into a glass. He explained that the pink liquid is like the information learned during training. ‘Do you have any idea what happens after two weeks?’ he asked. Not waiting for a response, he poured the pink glass content into what appeared to be a glass of water. What happened is the same as you can see in the picture. Even though he poured the pink liquid into the glass, it became completely transparent and colorless again.
Everything is Forgotten In Just Two Weeks
His message was very much aligned with his demonstration. According to the professor, after two weeks participants have already forgotten everything from a training course.
I was astounded. Was this the ultimate result of training courses that I gave with such dedication and enthusiasm? His message, especially the special effects with the pink water, inspired me to find a solution to trump his statement. It was at that moment that my journey to powerful presentations and memorable training started.
How To Do it Differently
Since that day, I have determined that it is possible to get participants to retain information for longer. As mentioned in my previous post, a participant recalled a presentation I did three years ago. What this professor used was also one of these techniques — clarify your story through something you show. It could be a chemistry trick like pink water, or you can use brain-friendly slides.
Now, think about a previous presentation you vividly recall. Was there something in it that you could use in your presentations? How about brain-friendly slides that can be easy to remember? In my book Powerful Presentations, I share everything you need to know to create brain-friendly slides, and the building blocks for a powerful, and exceptionally memorable, presentation.
Thinking back on the presentation that started my journey, I looked for a way to make pink water colorless again. I found that all you need is an indicator in combination with acid and ammonia. However, most of all, his presentation motivated me to actively seek ways to make it easier for my audience to remember my message.
In my next blog post, I will focus on how to use slides to do this. This time I won’t be talking about WOW-slides, but rather creating brain-friendly slides in general.
Do you know what the characteristics of brain-friendly slides are? Please read about it in my next blog post.
Until next time!
Frowa Schuitemaker from Powerful Presentations is an educationalist by heart. She and her daughter, Charlotte, wrote the book “Powerful Presentations – How to Easily Create and Use Impactful, Brain-Friendly Slide Presentations with the P-IQ Method.” She is the immediate president of the Dutch Speakers’ Association PSA NL. She is co-founder of VSAI, the Virtual Speakers Association International.
More information about their book can be found here:
https://castlemountmedia.mykajabi.com/powerfulpresentations
powerfulpresentations.nl/english | frowa@powerfulpresentations.nl